Rising Darkness
by silverdiva7
Summary: Three humans in full super cybertech armor are found by X and Zero in the site of a Reploid/Meverick battle, but no one knows who they are or why their armors are so specialized. A new Darkness is rising, and is up to the Hunters to defeat it once again.
1. Prologue: A Battle Ends

AN: Written by the combined forces of the D' Kidz. This is the prologue for 'Rising Darkness'. X and Zero won't arrive until Chapter One. First you got to know about the three humans… Read and review!!  
  
Disclaimer: D' Kidz do not own Megaman, Capcom does.  
  
  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
1 Prologue  
  
A Battle Ends  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
  
  
Running footsteps rang and everything seemed still except for the figures skirting across the deserted plains covered in wreckages.  
  
A figure jumped across an obstacle in the path as two other ran behind. There was a gasp as one of them tripped and fell facefirst onto the dusty ground.  
  
The other two skidded to stops. "Hurry, get up!" muttered one, grabbing the fallen one's arm. "We don't have much time…"  
  
"I don't think anybody's coming," panted the other one who stood. "We're the last ones."  
  
The one who fell leapt to her feet and said, "Even so, we still have to keep going. Or else we'll end up like everyone else."  
  
The second who spoke stood on a boulder, looking over the distance. "This is awful…it's a total massacre… This is what you get when you don't contact other bases."  
  
"Well, we're the last," said the first who spoke. "We're supposed to be the best and we proved it by living through this."  
  
"We're not here to prove anything," snapped the second. "We're here to survive."  
  
"Come on, we shouldn't bicker in the middle of this wasteland with no help for miles," said the third.  
  
"Fine, let's go," replied the first.  
  
The threesome resumed running, trying to avoid the obstacles they were having difficulty seeing in the dark. Though their armors were pretty much of high technology, they were heavily damaged by the onslaught that came over their base.  
  
"How…how much farther to the nearest Hunter sector?" asked the first.  
  
"Bad news…" muttered the third, looking at something on her wrist. "The nearest one is about seven miles from here."  
  
"Seven miles of nonstop running?" demanded the first, skidding to a stop and causing the others to do so as well. "I don't think our damaged systems can handle that far…"  
  
"We can't," replied the second. "It's not possible. Our systems are about to crash, our energies are badly depleted and we barely have enough strength to keep running so defending ourselves is out of the question."  
  
"So what do we do?" asked the third.  
  
The first opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sudden rumbling sound.  
  
"Tell me someone's hungry…" said the second, looking around warily. "We cannot be in trouble now…"  
  
"Well…" said the third slowly, "we are."  
  
The earth shook beneath their feet and the rumbling sound got louder. They jumped back just in time as what looked like a large drill broke out of the ground seconds after they'd gone from the position they'd previously been in. A last Maverick had avoided the chaos by seeking refuge underground, and now it has come up and spotted the three.  
  
"Oh no…" groaned the boy.  
  
"Anybody up for another battle?" asked the eldest girl warily.  
  
"Do we have a choice?" replied the younger girl.  
  
The Maverick suddenly sent plasma balls their way and the three scattered. The boy stopped and said, "Seems like we don't."  
  
The eldest girl brandished her weapon: a beam whip, and leapt to the air. With a crack, it straightened out and turned into something like a thin saber. In her descend to the ground, she came slashing at the Maverick's head. Unfortunately, due to her weakening energy, it had no effect.  
  
The Maverick, taking the opportunity as she hit the ground, blasted her with a plasma ball and she was sent flying several feet from her position. Reacting quickly, she pushed out with her hand and flipped over as the other two came running to the Maverick, weapons all drawn as well.  
  
The boy then lifted up his buster and fired his plama shot at the Maverick's cannons. Seeing an opportunity, he leapt up to the cannons and attempted to slash on the Maverick's torso. But, like the girl, he was weakened, and that too had not very much effect. The Maverick's drill went into action and the boy found it hitting him at the chest armor with a powerful force. Before he hit the ground, however, his impact was pretty much cushioned by the younger girl's indigo barrier. Unfortunately, he was knocked unconscious.  
  
The youngest girl, glancing at the older one who was struggling to get up, then went into fighting stance, branshing her indigo glaive. Using her dash boots to shoot upwards, she sent the blade of her glaive crashing down at the Maverick, and its impact caused the Maverick to topple over. The girl landed, and the eldest girl ran into the fray, slashing the whip-turned- saber in the air and sending a disc of purple energy at the Maverick. It had impact, and did enough damage.  
  
Panting, she looked at the younger girl and said, "Wake him up! We need him!"  
  
"For what?" asked the younger girl. Realization dawned on her. "You mean…"  
  
"No choice, girl. Let's do this."  
  
The younger girl, covered by a flickering indigo dome, ran to the unconscious boy and tried to get him to wake up as the eldest girl batted away at the Maverick's shots in attempt to protect them.  
  
"Wake up! Come on!" the younger girl said, shaking the older boy. "Don't make me have to slap you!"  
  
The boy, with his mind still rather shaken, came to his senses. "Wh-what? What's going on?"  
  
"Hurry, get up!" said the younger girl, thrusting the boy's dropped saber at him. "We have one last option to beat this thing."  
  
"Even if we go into coma for…weeks even, if no help arrives?" gasped the boy.  
  
"Either that or just die!" snapped the younger girl. "Now come on!"  
  
The two of them jumped up and ran to help the elder girl who was taking quite a beating. Panting, she slid to a stop after a blow at her companions' feet. "I don't think we've done pretty much damage, but if we use our final blow we'll destroy it."  
  
"Right," they nodded, and the three separated to three different sides.  
  
"On three!" yelled the boy.  
  
"Three!" they all yelled, and ran, charging right at the Maverick, weapons all drawn and filled with the remaining energy that they had.  
  
With a powerful impact, each weapon slammed into the Maverick, each nearly going right through the metal, and the energies combined suddenly emitted a blinding white light that could be visible from miles away in the plain. The explosion that followed rocked the ground, and when everything cleared, the Maverick was reduced to a smoldering ruin, and the three figures all lay apart, and all unconscious, unmoving.  
  
  
  
From a Maverick Hunter base several miles away, sensors picked up the large energy emission just miliseconds before the flash of white light was seen.  
  
Alia blinked and looked up. What was that? I better go send X and Zero to investigate tomorrow morning.  
  
  
  
AN: That's it for the prologue. Please review!! 


	2. Chapter One: The Three Human Hunters

AN: Here's the first chapter. X and Zero have arrived (finally). Read and Review!!  
  
Disclaimer: D' Kidz do not own Megaman, Capcom does.  
  
  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
1 Chapter One  
  
1.1 The Three Human Hunters  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
  
  
"X, have you found anything?" asked Zero through the communicator.  
  
"Nothing yet," replied the blue Hunter, looking around at all the wreckage. "I can't believe that we didn't know that something like this had actually happened."  
  
"Well, this sector is pretty isolated and left to themselves," replied Zero. "But really, you're right. We should've known about this."  
  
The two of them were now at Cerise Plains, where what looked like a major battle between Mavericks and Reploids had taken place. And amazingly, no one seemed to know very much about it. X and Zero had been sent by a worried-looking Alia to investigate the powerful surge of energy last night and the flash of light. And now that they were actually here, they found that they weren't exactly as informed as they thought they were.  
  
"I'm still not finding any signs of movement or life," said X. "And you?"  
  
"Something…" came Zero's rather vague answer that trailed off. "It's not too strong, but it's still something…"  
  
"Are you sure that isn't plant life?"  
  
"Look, do you think any plant could actually have lived through this massacre?"  
  
"I guess not," X chortled. Then he caught something. Wait, hold on, I think I've found something too."  
  
X moved over a few wreckages of rather large Mavericks and saw a blue and red foot sticking out from behind a boulder near a drill-Maverick's remains. The life sign was getting a little stronger now, and X looked and saw a young boy of about seventeen lying there, looking quite injured and very unconscious.  
  
"I've found someone," said X, scanning the boy over. "But it's not a Reploid."  
  
"What?!" Zero asked.  
  
"I found a human," replied X, a frown crossing his face. "Wearing some kind of highly-technological armor. Strange…this kind of armor level matches ours…"  
  
"Check it out, then," replied Zero. "In the meantime…I'll follow this signal. I'm tracking a life sign here…"  
  
"Right," replied X. Then he knelt down next to the boy and examined him. Pretty badly banged up…but for a human in a conflict like this, he hung on pretty well.  
  
He tried to see exactly what kind of armor the boy was wearing, but could find nothing on it. Weird…we don't seem to have records on this kind of armor. He looked at the boy and muttered, "Well, kid, you sure are pretty unusual. I wonder what Zero's found."  
  
  
  
About a quarter of a mile from X's direction, Zero saw a figure of a young girl in an indigo-colored armor lying near a oil slick. Zero, immediately knowing that this was where the life sign was coming from, immediately ran to her.  
  
He blinked as soon as he actually saw her. "She's human…"  
  
But what puzzled him was that one: she was actually out in a place like this, not to mention pretty much beaten, and two: like X, he noticed the unusual armor on her.  
  
"Now I know what X was talking about…" he muttered. He saw a weapon clutched in her hand. It was a tall indigo staff topped by a gleaming blade. I've never seen this before…well…not on anyone human.  
  
He moved closer an inch, and the next thing he knew, the blade was at his neck.  
  
The girl, looking like she had but a drop of energy left, was aiming it right at him. She looked rather drained, but she was glaring at Zero. "Who are you…" she muttered at him.  
  
Zero raised up his hands at her and said, "Whoa, easy there. I'm not going to hurt you."  
  
The girl choked out, "Where is my sister and brother?"  
  
What? Zero blinked. Her brother must be the human boy that X found, but her sister… "Um…I think we found your brother, but I haven't seen your sister."  
  
The girl then choked, "Rescue…them." And finally fainted once again. The glaive clattered to the ground. Zero let out his breath. For someone who'd badly beaten, she sure has a lot of will. She still forced herself to get up even when devoid of energy.  
  
"You're coming with me, then," he sighed to himself, picking up the girl. Then, he opened a channel to X and said, "How are you doing over there?"  
  
"The boy's knocked out, no energy, unconscious, wearing an unknown armor," came the reply. "And you?"  
  
"Had a close shave," said Zero. "Found a human girl in about the same state as that boy, but she nearly got to my neck with her weapon. She's moves fast for someone with an energy level as low as hers."  
  
"Is that so…" X sighed. "We'd better get back then."  
  
"Wait," said Zero. "This girl told me that she had a brother and a sister out here."  
  
"This must be her brother then," said X. "But…sister?"  
  
Zero sighed and said, "Found nothing either. Either she didn't make it, or she's a little farther off."  
  
"Well, we better take the two of them back first, then look for the other girl," replied X. Zero agreed, and the both of them teleported back to their HQ.  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
Alia turned around as soon as the red and blue teleporting beams appeared in the HQ and Zero and X materialized. "You're back," she said. She spotted the two. "Survivors?"  
  
"Better take care of them pronto, Alia," said Zero. "They're humans."  
  
Alia blinked. "What were they doing there?"  
  
"I haven't the foggiest idea," replied X. "But you better check on their armors with Douglas. Never seen anything like them. Tell us when we get back."  
  
"You're going back?" asked Alia as Lifesaver came in, wheeling two gurneys and the two Hunters placed the two armored humans on them.  
  
"Yeah," said Zero. "The girl nearly stabbed me before collapsing again, but she managed to tell me that she had a brother and a sister out there. The boy's her brother, and we're still going to search for the sister."  
  
"Right, then," said Alia, nodding, and the two Hunters teleported out.  
  
  
  
{~~(***)~~}  
  
  
  
X and Zero were still searching the wide Cerise Plains about a couple of hours later, but still have not found the final human.  
  
"Zero…" X said slowly, looking arund, "Maybe she didn't make it."  
  
"Well, her siblings did, so maybe she did too," replied Zero. "We can't just overlook her."  
  
X nodded, and checked his tracker again. "This is weird."  
  
"What is?" asked Zero.  
  
"I get the faintest signal of life, but then it suddenly vanishes. As if it's ducking in an out of range."  
  
"Maybe it's that girl," said Zero. "She may be moving around." The two of them tried to search for the girl again via tracker, and Zero said, "I got a life signal and it's faint, about a kilometer away North."  
  
"Let's hurry before it vanishes again," said X, and the both of them dashed off. Straining to follow the signal, the both of them ran as quickly as they could and realized that they, once arriving at the spot, had lost the life sign.  
  
"It was right here awhile ago," said X.  
  
"Where did it go?" asked Zero.  
  
Suddenly, X gave a yell and he crashed to the ground. "X!" Zero cried.  
  
"Something's got a hold of my foot!" he cried back. Looking down, he saw something purple and glowing around his right ankle. "What the—" he pointed his buster and Zero said, "X, wait! It's that other human!"  
  
X twisted around as the grip of whatever had him loosened. Sitting up, he saw a human girl in a purple and white armor leaning against a large chunk of metal, presumably from a Maverick. She was breathing hard, struggling to stay conscious. "Who—who are you?" she choked.  
  
"Maverick Hunters," replied X. "And you?"  
  
There was no reply from the girl. Instead, she said, "My—my brother…and my sister…"  
  
"They're all right," replied Zero. "We took them to our base to be healed."  
  
The girl stared at them and almost smiled. She nodded slowly. "Thank you." And she fell unconscious. As Zero moved forward to pick her up, X stood up and said, "How come I didn't have trouble with the boy?"  
  
"Maybe the boy had more sense than those two and kept storing his energy," replied Zero with a smirk. "I bet he'd wake up first."  
  
"Maybe," said X with a faint smile. "Let's go, then. The other two might be up any minute and want an explanation."  
  
Zero nodded, and the two both teleported out.  
  
  
  
{~~(*)~~}  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, the two humans finally seemed to stir in the infirmary. First thing they noticed was that they were floating underwater within glass tanks and had oxygen masks. The liquid was actually healing fluid that would help them get better.  
  
Unfortunately, with all the trauma that happened to them last night and the fact that they've woken up like this in an unfamiliar area, everything made them too stunned and horrified to think any sense.  
  
The next thing everyone knew, the infirmary was lighting up in red of alarm, and suddenly the boy's tank shattered into a million pieces. Fluid came gushing out with the rapidity of a rushing tide. And the boy's feet hit the ground and he shakily stood up, coughing out fluid. All of the infirmary staff took a step back, for it must've taken some power to bust through the tank like that.  
  
The boy, clothed in nothing but the black spandex undersuit, glared at everyone venomously and demanded, "Where's my armor? And where the heck is my cap?!" Not waiting for a response, caught sight of his armor within a glass case.  
  
Running to it, he gave the case a powerful blow and glass was sent flying everywhere. Within seconds, he was in his suit and wielding a powerful saber at them. "Don't any of you move! He yelled, still very disoriented and quite out of condition. He ran to his sister's tank and pounded on it. "Max! Max, wake up! Max!"  
  
The girl in the tank, also in a black spandex undersuit blinked slowly and opened her eyes. Horror and trauma was seen in them as soon as she realized where she was, and with a scream, she flew at the glass tank just as the boy sent his saber crashing down on it. The tank flew apart and glass was sent everywhere again along with a rushing tide of fluid.  
  
The girl hit the ground and ran for her armor as her brother was pointing a powerful buster and saber at everyone in the infirmary, who'd backed into a corner.  
  
Alia, hearing all the ruckus, had ran in with Douglas and a couple of other Hunters, and stopped stunned at what they saw. The two humans, in full armor and weapons drawn, dripping in fluid and both looking as deadly as a detonating nuclear silo, were now pointing weapons at them.  
  
And it just got worse.  
  
Alia was standing to near and before she knew it, the girl was pointing a glaive at her neck like what she'd done to Zero. Alia was forced to move away from the pack. "Where is our sister?" she demanded.  
  
"You—you didn't come in with her," Alia stammered, nervously looking at the blade on her neck. The other Hunters took a step forward, and the boy yelled, "If you guys move I'm going to blast half of this room to kingdom come!"  
  
"Look, just calm down, the both of you," said Alia, raising her palms at the girl. "We're not going to hurt you—"  
  
"Shut up!" snapped the girl, and Alia could see the light of panic in her eyes. "Tell us where our sister is!"  
  
"She—she's still being looked for," Alia replied.  
  
The boy narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you. The three of us were together last night and how could you have not found her?!"  
  
The blade at her neck moved closer, and Alia choked, "You guys were far apart! Or maybe—or maybe she didn't make it—"  
  
Turns out, that was the wrong thing to say. The boy pointed his buster upwards and fired a charged plasma shot that practically gave the infirmary a new sunroof.  
  
Then he pointed the deadly weapon at Alia. "We want an explanation. NOW."  
  
Before Alia could speak, two beams of light, one red and the other blue, came into the infirmary at the back of the other staff.  
  
"Alia!" X said. "We—oh no…"  
  
The two superiors instantly took in what was happening and plowed through the group to see the boy that X brought in pointing a gleaming buster at Alia, who looked rather cornered. "X, Zero, help…" she muttered at the corner of her mouth.  
  
The two hesitated—the reawakened humans were still disoriented, unstable and panicked, so the wrong move could blow Alia out of existence.  
  
And in the most amazing luck, the girl that Zero still carried stirred once again. Zero didn't notice yet, but the girl raised up her head and took in the surroundings. She spotted the boy and the girl, weapons pointed at an unfamiliar navigator, and demanding to know where their sister was.  
  
She sat up and fell out of Zero's arms and onto the ground on her knees. "Mike! Max! Stop!"  
  
At the sound of their names the two humans turned to look and saw their sister in front of the pack, still damaged and trying to get up. "What—what are you guys doing?!"  
  
The two gasped. "Marlene!" They ran to her and tried to help her up.  
  
"Are you okay?" asked the girl.  
  
"What's happening and where are we?" asked the boy.  
  
"Why the hell are you asking me?" the girl named Marlene snapped weakly. "Ask them. They're good guys, Mike, so get a hold of yourselves and stop trying to kill every next person, okay?"  
  
And Marlene passed out once again. "Marlene!" they chorused.  
  
The girl suddenly groaned. "Mike…I'm feeling a little dizzy…"  
  
"You and me both, then," the boy choked. Then the both of them fell to the ground, sprawled at their sisters' feet.  
  
Lifesaver stepped forward and said, "They came out of the tanks too soon. They're still a little weak and being out so soon made them rather…wild."  
  
"Well, it's over," said X, stepping forward, then turned to Alia. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yes," Alia sighed. "By some miracle, yes. That blade came so close…"  
  
"Right," said Zero with a small smile. "Someone better fix that hole in the infirmary and clean this place up. Lifesaver, you better tend to them again. And this time make sure they stay in the tanks until they're a little more…sane."  
  
"I'll make sure of that," nodded Lifesaver. "The trauma seemed a little too much for them."  
  
"Boy, I'll say," Alia muttered as she stalked out of the room.  
  
  
  
AN: Well, how'd you like chapter one? Sorry, but we had to endanger Alia a bit. But she's okay… Anywayz, please Review!! 


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